I suspected my problem was freudian in nature. But I figured it probably had to do with my mom (whose name is LauraAnn) and the fact that I am drawn to names that all that have serious drawbacks and all echo the sounds of her name. Hahahaha!

Holst: glad to know someone is with me on the Ahr pron. And you're in the states, so its not because you have a different accent, right? Most Californians I meet have pretty standard American accents.

Holst: glad to know someone is with me on the Ahr pron. And you're in the states, so its not because you have a different accent, right? Most Californians I meet have pretty standard American accents.

Well I grew up around many people who spoke Spanish and French. The "Ahr" sound is easy for me to identify when I'm already familiar with the names Aura (like Ahr-ah; similar to the pron. of Audrey - "Ahd/Odd-ree") or Aurelia (I pronounce it as "Ahr-elle-ee-a").

If I am speaking it in a general Californian accent, I suppose I would go either way - if I were someone who did not have the linguistic background similar to mine.

But I believe if a person has heard of "Aurora Borealis" or knows of the tale of "Sleeping Beauty" (so they are familiar with "Aurora"), it can be easy to assume "Aurelie" is pronounced "Ahr-ugh-lee/Ahr-ah-lee."